The World's Greatest Hero
by Power9987
Summary: For the past 6 years, Deku has reigned supreme as the number one hero in the Hero Rankings. He represents an unmovable pillar of hope, achieving his ultimate goal of succeeding All Might as the next Symbol of Peace. Of course there are always still those pesky villains that won't stop at anything to achieve their goals. It is up to Deku and his fellow heroes to counter their scheme
1. The World's Greatest Hero

**A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first fan fiction for this fandom, and I am really excited to see how it goes! I honestly don't know how long this fit will be. It depends on how much motivation I get to write it, but I do plan on adding at least a few more chapters after this one. I guess it depends on the response I get, as a greater response make me more motivated to write.**

 **This is a fic I had in my head ever since I started watching the anime and reading the manga. Izuku is probably my favorite protagonist of any series and he is just so endearing! I love the precious cinnamon roll, and try to preserve that as much as I can in this fic. The reason I love him the most though is because I believe he represents everything a true hero should be. He is self-sacrificing, humble, and will do basically anything to help someone no matter who they are and what grudges he may have against them *cough Kacchan cough.* This is also something that I will try to make extremely apparent in this fic.**

 **I also bring out my concept on the hero rankings in this fic. In this AU, Hero Rankings get published every six months, and are compromised of a few different individual components. This will be expanded upon further in future chapters.**

 **So without further adue, lets get this party started!**

 **I apologize for any blatant grammar mistakes. This chapter is unbetad.**

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Chapter 1: The World's Greatest Hero

 _HEROES! Magazine: Japan's most trusted source for everything heroes!_

 _NEW HERO RANKINGS!: Shouto Finally Trumps Gale for Highly Coveted #4 Spot! Uravity and Froppy Crack Top 10 for First Time!_

 _For the past thee cycles, Shouto and Gale have been vying for the coveted #4 ranking, and for the most part Gale has gotten the best of Shouto. Today however marks the end of Gale's one and a half year reign on top as Shouto has finally bested him in the latest rankings! Many believe this could be due to the hero's most recent effort in—_

"Hello sir!" A voice jolts him out of this reading. The teenager scowls, annoyed at the interruption as he looks up to the saleswoman at the stand he stopped at. "I see you are looking at the latest Hero Rankings! I'm _SO_ happy that Shouto finally knocked off Gale! He definitely is a hottie that deserves the ranking of #4!"

He smirks at the lady. "Well you're not wrong." He can admit that Shouto is very attractive, and also deserving of the top spot amongst the 'mortal' heroes. He also may be a bit biased due to the fact that he knows Shouto very well since he's always hanging out with his big brother, but meh! That's not important.

"I KNOW! He's just so dreamy and the way that he uses his fire and ice is absolutely stunning!" He can't help but raise his eyebrow and shake his head at her obvious adoration for the dual quirk user. She seems to be laying it on a bit thick, and he finds it all quite amusing. That's mainly because he knows that Shouto is pretty shy and indifferent towards most people. Its almost as funny when he finds people who gush over Big Brother.

Almost. Nothing will beat people gushing over Big Brother. Mainly because the teen usually joins in with them and makes his brother extremely embarrassed.

Speaking of which…

"Oh! I see you are also wearing a Deku hat! Did you see the new article that they had on him?! Man I tell you, I seriously can't believe how much he's already done in ten years!"

The kid outright grins now, not aware of this pleasantly surprising new fact. He was originally going to get the magazine for Big Brother just for the article about not only one of the hero's best friends, but two: Shouto and Froppy! And lets not forget that it also mentions his wife Uravity. His brother would love so see those three finally getting the credit they deserve in the rankings. But now learning about this new article about Big Brother himself, the boy absolutely _needs_ to get it.

He can't wait to see how his big brother will react to that article.

He stifles a giggle at that thought. Despite being the #1 Hero for the past 6 years running now—and with absolutely no sign of being dethroned anytime soon—he still is the same anxious, nerdy, shy boy that gets embarrassed at the tiniest compliment. There have been hundreds of articles on Deku at this point, but his reaction to all of them is still hilarious every singe time.

"Yeah, Deku is my favorite hero," the teen replies to her. This would come as a shock to absolutely nobody. Not only is Deku his big brother, but he also saved his life various times. Not to mention that he is far and away the most popular hero in Japan, arguably even more popular than All Might in his prime.

The saleswoman replies with a giggle. "For some reason that doesn't surprise me…" She gives his outfit a once over and he can't help the small blush that comes to his face. Not only is he decked out in a Deku hat, but he's also wearing a one of a kind Deku shirt that has the hero giving his signature grin with the words 'Have no fear! Because I'm here!' He even got it signed, although that was more to see Big Brother's reaction and to make his friends extremely jealous.

"By the way," she continues. "Did you read the part where he saved the life of a little boy while he was still a first year, BY HIMSELF?! I remember the event since it was all over the news and Yuuei got a bad rep for letting villains attack their students during a summer training camp."

His eyes widen at the girl's words. He has a feeling he knows where this is going…

"Apparently Deku went against one of the most powerful villains of that time: some brute named 'Muscular.' If I recall, he was still a criminal that was on the loose from his murder of the Water Hose Duo—" The boy winces at that information. "—and this guy was a part of this attack. But not only did Deku fight him, he managed to win and capture him, all while protecting the child! He didn't even have his provisional hero license at the time and he still went out of his way to save that boy!" She then sighs dramatically and gives him a dreamy grin. "Man, if that isn't a true hero I don't know what is."

The teenager looks down at that information, a sad smile on his face. Oh he knows that story intimately.

After all, he is the little boy that was saved that day.

Kouta quickly steels his expression and looks back up at the saleswoman with a grin. He gets some money out and gives it to her, grabbing another magazine off of the rack and buying two copies. "Yeah, he certainly is an awesome hero isn't he?" He pauses at her enthusiastic nod, taking his change. "Thanks Miss!" The teen gives the woman a wave before heading off towards his destination, now lost in thought.

Deku is an awesome hero. Heh. Awesome doesn't even _begin_ to describe how amazing his big brother is. Not only did Deku save him from his parents' murderer that day, but he also saved him from himself. At that point, he was so bitter towards what happened to his parents he hated heroes and quirks in general. After learning what happens to those who repress their quirks, he knows how dangerous it can be, not only physically, but mentally. His big brother's actions opened his eyes and gave him the epiphany he needed in order to heal from the death of his parents.

But that's not even the half of it. The most incredible part of the story to him wasn't that Deku tore himself up to defeat Muscular against all odds. Although that is impressive, that's not what made Deku his hero. No, what made him his hero was the fact that Deku tore himself up and risked his life fighting Muscular in order to save _him!_ Kouta hadn't given his big brother any reason to risk his life for him, and in fact made his stay at that summer camp that much more stressful.

He punched the guy in the freakin' _nuts_ the first time he met him for god's sake!

Yet Deku still went out of his way and saved him regardless. That's what makes him a hero— _Kouta's_ hero.

So with the knowledge that someone actually wrote an article revealing those events, he had to buy a copy of the magazine. He had to buy it not only for Big Brother, but for himself too. With everything that has been revealed about Deku's incredibly heroic career up to this point, this is the first article that details those specific events. Auntie Shino probably was interviewed for it. That's the only way he can think of that they would have gotten that story. He knows for sure Deku didn't say anything.

He snorts at that thought. Big Brother would never try to boast about doing something that he just thought was the right thing to do. It's one of the many traits that makes him the most popular hero in Japan by a landsli—

"Haha! Gotcha now kiddie!"

He drops the magazines he was carrying as he feels some guy's arm around his neck pulling him backwards towards his body. Kouta internally sighs, mentally berating himself for not paying more attention. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he was walking home on autopilot and unintentionally walked right into one of the back alleys in the shader part of the neighborhood. Luckily though, Kouta had one hand in his pocket where his phone is, and he is able to send off a quick text to the group chat with at least 10 pro heroes with his location before the villain adjusts his grip and slams him forward against a brick building.

He winces, trying to struggle out of the guy's hold, but the man just laughs and pushes him harder against the wall. He can tell from the villain's grip that he has some sort of strength enhancement quirk since the teen can't even budge him at all.

 _What is with my luck with villains with strength enhancement quirks?_ he mentally laments.

"Yes! You will be the perfect little hostage," the villain whispers to him. "The police are always more willing to give me what I want when a child is involved."

Kouta gulps. Normally he might have been able to a least stall for time for the heroes to arrive, but he was caught off guard by this man. Still, while he is starting to get nervous internally, he can't let this loser know that. "I wouldn't say that if I were you," Kouta retorts. "You have no idea who you're messing with. Do you even know who my big brother is? When he finds you he—"

"SHUT UP!" the villain cuts him off. He slams him against the wall once, and then another time for emphasis, making his face hit the wall with concussive force. "I don't care who you brother is! You better cooperate with me or else you will be seeing a lot more stars than you are right now! I'm not above hurting a child to get my way!"

 _Okay…_ Kouta thinks, coughing up blood dripping down his throat from his shattered nose. _That was probably not the smartest thing to say when he's in the position of power._ He continues coughing, wincing from the pain of that last slam. He really hopes that someone will come and help him soon, before this gets any worse. How did it get to this point already?

Eventually the villain slams him against the wall one more time before letting go. Kouta immediately slumps against the wall. He doesn't stay there for long though as the villain roughly grabs him by his favorite Deku shirt and pulls him up. Kouta tries to get a good look at his ugly face, but it's covered by a black ski mask _._ How cliche. "Yes! This is perfect!" the man exclaims. "With you looking like this, they will see how serious I am about my demands!"

The teen tries once more to struggle, but with his head aching the way it is as well as the the strength enhancement quirk the villain has, it only leads the villain to roughly turn him around and shove him forward. He pins one of the teens arms behind his back to prevent Kouta from stumbling as he is shoved forward. "Move forward before I have to do something even more dra—"

"Excuse me sir," a voice interrupts the criminal. A very familiar voice that makes Kouta relax instantly. He didn't even realize how scared he was until he heard that voice.

The villain roughly turns to face the new voice, turning Kouta with him since he's still in tight in his grip. "Yeah, what do you want punk?"

Kouta can vaguely make out the hero's figure at the end of the alleyway, although his presence is extremely comforting. The figure moves closer, blocking the exit to the alley. "I would appreciate it if you would unhand my brother and come with me."

Yes, he knows everything will be fine now.

Because _he_ is here.

Deku.

His big brother.

The villain stupidly laughs his head off at that declaration. "What are you going to do about it? Your brother is a valuable hostage, and I need him to fulfill my goals." The villain then shoves Kouta hard against the wall once again. "So you get out of here before I harm your 'brother' even more!"

There isn't even an ounce of fear in Kouta's body as the villain makes his intentions known. He knows without a doubt that Deku will save him as much as he knows without a doubt that humans need oxygen to live. Instead of whimpering or shaking in fear, Kouta merely smirks as he feels the air charge with hostile intent. This guy definitely made a mistake by doing that. Big Brother already hates it when villains take hostages, but not only is this guy using a kid as a hostage, but it's his own younger brother to boot.

Apparently the idiot that took him hostage doesn't recognize the man standing in his way. Not that its that much of a surprise since the alleyway is dark and all he can see is the outline of a short, skinny looking man blocking his way. That will just make this that much more hilarious.

If Kouta wasn't in the position he's in, he would get out some popcorn while he watches this villain get his ass handed to him.

He can see the green lightning start to surround Deku as he activated his Full Cowl. The villain must realize who he's up against now as Kouta can feel him stiffen behind him. "Alright then," he can hear Deku reply. "I guess I have no choice then than to take you by force!"

Kouta doesn't even bother holding back his grin as he suddenly feels the villain release him and start running away. The teen immediately slumps against the wall and tries to catch the action as his big brother instantly catches up to the guy and slams the villain against the wall himself.

Ha! Take that! A piece of your own medicine!

"I may not be as fast as Ingenium or as strong as TentaCole or Sugar Rush—" Kouta can't help the snort that escapes from hearing that. Please. As much as Kouta respects those three heroes, Deku's definitely better than all of them. "—but I think it's safe to say I'm pretty quick and strong in my own right. You should just give up and come with me."

To the villains credit, he is able to get out of Deku's grip and leap backwards. "So you're Deku eh? The great 'Symbol of Peace!'" the villain responds sarcastically. Kouta sees him visibly bulk up, confirming his suspicions that he has a strength enhancement quirk. "I don't see what's so special about you! If that's all you got, then this should be a walk in the park!"

Deku looks over towards Kouta briefly, eyes darkening at seeing his injuries. The hero then turns his face back towards the villain and give him a full fledged Deku grin. The difference from his normal grin is palpable though. This one holds no warmth or kindness—just a promise of pain. "Oh don't worry," the hero states. Kouta winces at the falsely sweet voice of his big brother. "That was only 5% of my power. I was toning it down to prevent any collateral damage, but with your quirk, it looks like I might need 15% to actually subdue you."

And then he charges up Full Cowl.

The fight ends before it even began. While the villain was indeed pretty strong, Kouta could tell that he relied heavily on catching his targets off guard. Once in an actual one-on-one situation, he doesn't really have many fighting skills, especially against someone like Deku. It takes less than half a minute for Deku to take care of the villain and knock him out. It wouldn't have taken even that long if he could have used his smashes, but the fact that they were fighting in a side alleyway limited his options in order to keep the damage to a minimum.

Once he makes sure the villain is tied up, he rushes over to Kouta. While the teen grins up at his hero, said hero frowns upon seeing the younger's injuries. The man looks towards the villain again as if contemplating giving him more punishment before sighing and picking up Kouta as if he were a small child. This brings a blush to the teen's face, but he doesn't fight to get out of his grip. He knows a lost battle when he sees one.

"I'm so sorry I took so long to get to you Kouta," Deku starts. He walks out of the alleyway seeing a police car pull up and take the criminal in. The officer takes one look at the hero before nodding his head and driving off. They know that Deku will file the correct paperwork and statement tomorrow. One of the advantages of being the #1 hero. "I tried getting there as soon as I got your signal, but I was still too late to save you from getting hurt."

Kouta merely snuggles a bit against his hero to let him know it's alright. "Relax Big Brother," he retorts. They both wince at how nasally his voice sounds with the broken nose. "I know your agency is halfway across town and it would be a bit until you got there. I was just too stupid, not cooperating or buying more time. I think I was mostly pissed that this guy took me off guard and made me drop the magazines I'd just bought, so I had to be snarky back, you know?"

Deku snorts. Clearly he does know. "Kouta, you've gotta stop doing that! You're going to get seriously hurt one of these days! I mean look at you!"

"Please! This is nothing Eri or Recovery Girl can't fix." The teen looks away at the stern look he gets from his big brother.

"That's not the point! You shouldn't go around and mouth off to villains when they have you in a compromised position." He then turns the teen's head to meet his gaze. "I really hate seeing you get hurt, even if we have the means to heal it. It makes me feel like a failure as a big brother…"

Okay, ouch. That statement right there hurt ten times more than his multiple trips against that wall. "I'm sorry Big Brother…" He glumly replies. "I never think you're a failure as a big brother. The reason I feel like I can do that stuff in the first place is because I know that you will be there to save me if anything goes wrong. If anything, I've failed you as a little brother—"

"NO!" Deku replies vehemently. "You could never fail me as a little brother! I just don't like that you sometimes get yourself into sticky situations like this. It's not like you can help it… just promise me you'll be more careful in the future."

The teen nods before wincing at the pain that brought. He definitely has a mild concussion, but again, nothing that Eri or Recovery Girl can't take care of. "I promise I'll be more careful." Deku just gives him a small grin at that, the gesture making Kouta relax into his brother's comforting embrace. While normally he would probably protest getting carried home like a baby by his big brother—he is 15 years old after all—he admits that this is nice. Big Brother is the only one that he would allow to carry him like this.

"So, why were you out this way anyways?" Big Brother asks. "You mentioned buying magazines…"

"That's right!" he shouts, wincing at the noise. Stupid concussion. He definitely needs to think before he speaks. "I bought the latest _HEROES! Magazine_ since it had the newly published results of the latest Hero Rankings! I was going to get you and Big Sister one since it had an article about Shouto making #4 and Uravity and Froppy making the Top 10!"

 _Not to mention the article on how you saved me the very first time._

He can see his Big Brother's face light up at that. "Lets get you home first and fix those injuries, but then I'll buy some more of those magazines for you okay?"

Kouta smiles and nods gently as to not rouse his headache before snuggling into his brother's arms some more. He closes his eyes and lets himself relax as they make their way back to his Big Brother's house. It's so nice that Uncle Mirio and Eri live next door from Big Brother and Big Sister because that just makes it that much more convenient for him to heal up. Eri truly is a miracle worker with her quirk.

He tries hard not to fall asleep the rest of the way back. He knows it's not good to fall asleep with a concussion, but Deku's embrace feels like laying on a cloud. He feels so safe and protected, not that he would admit it out loud in a normal situation. However, this is not a normal situation.

As he sees the house up in the distance, Kouta suddenly grins thinking of one thing:

His big brother's reaction once he sees that article about him.

He'll make sure he makes plenty of popcorn for _that_ show.


	2. Friendship

**A/N: Hello again! Thank you to everyone who reacted to my chapter! I was very pleased with the response and I now know that it will continue to keep me motivated to write!**

 **This chapter will explore Eri's point of view. I honestly think that she and Kouta would hit it off extremely well if they ever met in cannon, and I also think that Mirio doesn't get enough respect in this fandom. This chapter helps to rectify both of those issues.**

 **The hero rankings make another subtle appearance here, but you will get the full out rankings net chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2: Friendship

"Kouta! You've gotta stop getting yourself hurt like this!"

"Hey! It's not like I go looking for trouble! Trouble usually finds me!"

"Hmm… Sounds like another certain 'someone' I know…"

Eri tries hard, she really does, but she eventually fails to hold back her giggles at her mentor's comment. She knows _exactly_ who she's talking about. Apparently that person does too because he is blushing from the comment. That was the breaking point for her.

She sees her big brother wave his hands in front of his face trying to deny that, but the dual looks both his wife and his old school nurse are giving him just make him throw his hands up in defeat. Her giggles become full out laugher when she hears him mumble "well its true…" under his breath.

Her brother is just too cute.

"Okay now, let's compare the reckless streaks of Kouta and Izuku another time," her dad speaks up. "We should focus on healing our youngest troublemaker here so that we can get on with our dinner date."

Eri does her best to reign in her laughter for now as she tries to regain her focus. She is the one that needs to heal her best friend after all. Her quirk is absolutely perfect for healing injuries like this. She gradually calms herself down so that she can concentrate on her task at hand.

Once she's found her center, Eri walks up to the chair that Kouta is sitting on and kneels to his level. She then looks over to the phone where her mentor is video calling from Yuuei. While Kouta's injuries are normally something they would go to her to treat, Eri has been training with her for a few months now, despite only being a third year in middle school. This is excellent practice for the control of her quirk. Now that she has a solid understanding of how it works, she knows how to use it without causing too much backlash It's been _years_ since Mr. Aizawa has needed to erase her quirk in fear of overdoing it. Still, since she doesn't have a license to use her quick yet, she needs the direct supervision of a licensed mentor to sign off on its use, hence the video call with Recovery Girl.

The use of her quirk in this manner was actually Big Brother's idea, which shockingly came as a surprise to no one earn she revealed that fact. After all, he is well known for analyzing quirks, quirks, and more quirks as a hobby, giving him a mind for quirks like no other save Nedzu. He had gotten the idea for using her quirk for helping people from his battle with the horrible bird people (she likes her childish term for them much more than the term 'Yakuza'). She was on his back during the fight and her quirk kept on 'rewinding' all of his injuries as he fought with 100% of his Full Cowl.

After the battle, Big Brother was the first one to ever tell her that her quirk was kind and gentle. That it could be used for _healing_ rather than _destroying_.

And then after hearing about Big Brother's idea, her dad was the first one to ever be subject to her healing magic.

Her brave, loving, kind, amazing dad had risked his life saving her and protecting her from the head bird person—the one that had 'claimed' to be her 'father.' In that fight, her precious dad had gone out of his way to shield and protect her in his cape. He was so focused on protecting her that he was caught off guard by another bird person and got hit with the bullet that was made with her blood…

And that bullet made him lose his quirk.

However, despite the fact that it was her blood that made him lose his quirk, he never blamed her for that struggle.

Not even once.

He always encouraged her, played with her, took care of her, made her smile.

So it was with him in mind that she worked tirelessly with Big Brother and Mr. Aizawa to practice to control her quirk. As she struggled through both the physical toll of using her quirk more than ever, and the psychological torture that came with using a power that she grew up fearing, the idea of helping him kept her pushing through all. She believed he would have been an amazing and inspiring hero no matter what—with or without his quirk—but he had had his quirk for basically his whole life. While her dad never admitted it out loud, Big Brother had told her that losing a quirk would be like losing part of one's self. So her one goal in mind became control her quirk well enough to restore her dad's quirk—to restore his quirk so he can become whole and happy again.

After finding out that her quirk worked by rewinding time on things, Big Brother had the idea of rewinding the time on his blood cells to the time before they were exposed to the quirk destroying bullet. Mr. Aizawa, being the logical man he is, was skeptical, mainly because he thought that the quirk bullet had rewound his cells to a time before he developed his quirk. If this was the case, then Eri's powers would only rewind time more, which wouldn't give Dad his quirk back.

However, her dad was adamant. He told them he was more than willing to take that chance. He told her that even if she couldn't, that it would still be valuable as a learning experience. They would know for sure that she couldn't restore his quirk and learn even more about her quirk from it. But he had also told her that he had faith that she _could_ do it, that he had unwavering confidence she could restore his quirk.

He put his complete trust in her.

He believed in her.

His confidence in her gave her confidence in herself. As it turned out, his faith was rewarded; it worked out. Her dad got his quirk back and is now one of the most well-respected heroes in the world.

"Go ahead Eri," Recovery Girl encourages. "This will be your first real test on your own, and you haven't failed me yet! Just remember all of the other students you helped at Yuuei."

She gulps, nodding nervously before looking back at Kouta. Through his bloodied, bruised face with his crooked nose, he gives her a thumbs up and a grin. That relaxes her a great deal, knowing that her best friend is trusting her completely on this.

He believes in her.

Just like her dad.

Shedding her anxieties on using her quirk essentially on her own for the first time, she puts her hand on Kouta's face. She concentrates on rewinding the time on his injuries just to the point of where they were before he was captured by that villain. Her small horn starts glowing with the use of her quirk, and she can see the bruising start to fade from her friend's face. Suddenly, his nose snaps back into place with a loud _CRACK_ before she lets go out of shock.

Good thing that was the time she needed to let go regardless.

Out of her peripheral vision, she can see Big Brother, Big Sister, and Dad all wince at the crack of her best friend's nose snapping back into place. However, Kouta himself just hives her a wider grin. "Wow, Eri!" he exclaims excitedly. "As gross as that sounded, that was amazing! It didn't even hurt at all! You even healed my concussion!"

Eri giggles bashfully at his enthusiasm. "Oh stop it! It wasn't that big of a deal—"

"Au contraire, ma belle amie," he responds instantly. He's still grinning like a kid in a candy store, which Eri finds adorable. "You just fixed my messed up face and made it beautiful again! That is a deed that is worthy of knighthood!" He then gets up from his chair, and Eri grins. She kneels down in front of him, playing along. He straightens his posture and puts his hand over his head.

"I, King Izumi Kouta of the prestigious Kingdom of Good Looks—" she snorts as he states this in the most regal voice he can. Which isn't very regal, but that just makes it that much more hilarious. "—hereby bestow the title of 'Healing Beauty' upon thee! Henceforth, you shall be known as 'Lady Toogata Eri,' Healing Beauty of the Good Looks Kingdom so mote it be!"

Eri raises her head, desperately trying to hold it together long enough to finish their 'ceremony.' "You honor me greatly m'Lord," she responds humbly. "I will cherish this title and use it to serve you well in the future." She looks Kouta dead in the eye for a few more seconds…

And then they both completely lose it.

They both laugh loud and boisterously. She takes one look at the lost look on all of the adults faces and that just makes her laugh harder. Okay, maybe that wan't such a good idea since she's laughing so hard that she probably busted her gut. From the sound of it, Kouta isn't fairing any better.

This is why she loves her best friend so much. He may seem like an angsty teenager on the outside to most people, but around her he is incredibly quick witted and hilarious. He can joke with her for hours and it seems like they have millions of inside jokes just between the two of them. They can have entire conversations revolving around one of their shenanigans with no one else knowing a thing about what they are talking about. He also is so friendly and considerate, always looking out to help people in any way he can.

She can tell that he tries to take after Big Brother on that front as much as he can.

That was how their friendship even became possible. They had a connection—they both were saved by Big Brother from their most feared villain. Their shared adoration for the same person helped them connect to each other. Both tried their best to emulate their hero, and eventually it led to other similarities between them. Then, when Big Brother and Big Sister moved in next door to her and Dad, it made it extremely convenient for them to hang out together. Especially with Kouta practically living at Big Brother's house for most of the colder months to make it easier on his commute to school. They then ended up in the same class—it was like fate was bringing them together!

The rest, as they say, is history.

"I swear they get that from you two!" she somehow hears Big Sister state though her laughter. She calms herself down enough to look on at her dad as he huffs and turns away.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" he retorts

"Agreed good sir." Big Brother huff-turns in the same fashion as Dad and looks away. "I cannot imagine were you get that idea m'Lady."

The girl sees Big Sister throw her hands up in the air dramatically before her vision tears over as her laughter intensifies again.

"I swear, are you all _trying_ to kill your children!?" she barely hears her mentor over the phone. "At this rate, they'll die of laughter and I'll have to fill out all of that paperwork, not to mention arrest you three for two counts of second degree murder!"

Big Sister gasps dramatically. "You wouldn't!"

"You know I would Midoriya Ochako!"

"But I didn't even do anything!" she pleads her case. "It was all Kouta and Eri, facilitated by Izuku and Mirio!"

"Yes, and you were the one that made both Midoriya and Toogata react in the first place!"

"Yeah honey," Big Brother chirps. "You're just as much responsible for their murders as Mirio and I."

"Well said my knight!" her dad pipes up. They both share a fist bump while Big Sister full-on _pouts_ at them.

Needless to say, this doesn't help her laughing situation one bit.

"Honestly! You're all ridiculous!" The Youthful Heroine exclaims once more. Eri can tell that she is mostly amused though… at least she thinks so. She can never really tell for sure with her mentor. "Well, the good news is that it looks like Kouta is healed up nicely. Now if he could just calm down, I can provide a once over examination, ask him a few questions as per concussion protocol, and be on my way."

It takes a few minutes, but eventually both she and Kouta are able to calm down enough to actually let her mentor sign off on her healing. They however share a high five for their impromptu skit, causing said school nurse to roll her eyes at them.

"All joking aside, it looks like you did a splendid job Miss Toogata! He seems to be as good as new." This makes her swell with pride. Praise from Recovery Girl is only given when well deserved, so she knows that she did an amazing job. "Of course, I would like to see Kouta myself in person sometime tomorrow to check the more physical symptoms more closely, but you did all of the hard work by getting rid of that concussion. That in itself is well done my dear."

Okay, she can't help but blush at that, but she tries to cover it up with a megawatt grin. "Thank you Sensei!" she chirps.

Her mentor smiles warmly at her through the phone screen. "You're quite welcome my dear." She pauses one moment before continuing. "Alright, I expect you back here tomorrow after school for your normal training, and bring Kouta along with you so I can check him over as well."

Eri looks over at her best friend for only a moment before smirking. They both give the Youthful Heroine identical salutes. "Yes ma'am!" They add in unison.

She can hear her dad snort and Big Sister groan as her mentor gives her _yet another_ eye roll. "Okay you two. Behave yourselves!"

Both her and her friend blink innocently to the camera, once again perfectly in sync. "When do we not?" That brings a chuckle from her dad as Recovery Girl sighs before ending the call.

Apparently she didn't deem that worthy of a response.

"Okay, now that Kouta is healed, we can get started with dinner!" Big Sister announces.

That's right. She forgot the whole reason that her dad and she were here to begin with was because they were having dinner at the Midoriya residence. Her dad and Big Brother have been extremely close ever since they rescued her from the evil bird people. Because of that bond, they worked together constantly both in school and once they became heroes themselves. It came as no surprise that as soon as Big Brother and Big Sister got married that they moved in right next door to her and her dad. It was then quickly determined that they each host the other for dinner whenever possible. Not only is it a convenient excuse to get together, but it also saves money and resources.

Not to mention it takes some pressure off of her dad. It's definitely got to be tough for him to be both a top professional hero and a single dad, and she loves him that much more for it.

Speaking of which…

"Yep!" Dad adds. "And we're having katsudon with mochi for dessert! After all, we're celebrating Uravity here becoming the #8 hero in the latest rankings!"

Eri's eyes widen at that. She knew that the newest rankings came out today, but she had no idea Big Sister went up 3 spots!

"Oh, that reminds me!" Big Brother suddenly shouts. He looks frantic for some reason. "The whole reason Kouta got into that situation to begin with was because he was buying the latest _HEROES! Magazine_ with the latest rankings published in it! Obviously he lost them during that attack, but I promised him I would get him some new copies!"

Her best friend turns at that. "Y-you don't have to do that!" he protests. "It was my fault I lost them to begin with—"

"Uh uh, nope!" Big brother responds emphatically. "You cannot be blamed for the work of a villain! Besides, I told you I would, so I will. You need to take a shower anyway." He grimaces at that. "You may be healed, but you still have blood all over you."

Both Kouta and she wince at that as well. "But Big Brother," he tries once more. "It was supposed to be a gift! You can't buy your own gift!"

"Sorry bro, but it's happening. You'll just have to get me another gift. Besides you already paid for them anyway, and I'll just use the money that I got from arresting that villain to pay for it, so it's actually like the villain is buying your replacements."

"Wow, that's some really stretched out logic there Deku," her dad comments dryly.

"But it's the truth!" He defends before looking Kouta right in the eye. "How many copies did you get Kouta?"

"…Two…"

"Okay then!" Big Brother gives him a grin. "I'll have those two here for you before you are all cleaned up!"

Kouta sighs, but eventually nods to Big Brother. He probably realized it was a lost battle. It still doesn't stop him from sulking as he heads to his room to get clothes to change into.

"Hey, why don't I go with you!" Dad suggests suddenly. "I could probably buy Eri a copy myself—"

"And leave me to make _my own_ celebratory dinner _by myself?!_ " Big Sister exclaims. This makes everyone jump in their spot. "Oh _hell_ no! You are helping me! Deku can just buy one for Eri while he's out."

Her dad's answering pout makes her giggle. "But I hate cutting vegetables…" her dad actually _whines_.

"Don't give me that Toogata Mirio!" Ochako answers scathingly. Big Sister then grins at her, but the expression is anything but friendly. It actually makes her gulp. "Besides, that's what you have your daughter for."

Her eyes widen at that as her dad grins and gives off a whoop. "That's right! Our little Eri can cut all of the vegetables while I prepare the meat!"

"W-wait!" She desperately shouts. She hates cutting those dreaded heath foods as much as her dad! "What kind of dad actually encourages his daughter to play with knives!?"

"The kind that _really_ hates cutting vegetables!" he replies cheerily, making her groan. "Besides! You're fifteen, not five! I'm trying to invoke upon you some skills you will be able to use for the rest of your life! I trust you enough to handle the knives properly."

Okay, that's not fair. Her dad should not be able to say stuff like that to make her cave. He knows that she loves it when he shows her how much trust he has in her. "Okay, fine, I'll cut the stupid veggies. But you are definitely cutting them tomorrow!"

She tries hard to look mad, but her dad's answering grin makes it pretty much impossible. "Of course Eri!"

"Now that that's all settled," he hears her big brother chuckle, "I'm gonna get going here. I do need to make it back before Kouta gets out of the shower."

Big Brother gives Big Sister a kiss and leaves with a wave. "Alright!" Ochako claps her hands for emphasis. "Time to start making dinner!"

As her dad gives an overly enthusiastic cheer, she resigns herself to her pitiful fate. Both of them end up almost dragging her to the kitchen. And as she starts getting herself prepared for the absolutely _gruling_ task, there's one thought that keeps her going.

Dinner is going to be absolutely amazing.

After all, katsudon is her favorite meal.

 _I guess I can suffer for the end result…_

* * *

 **A/N: Who else absolutely despises cutting vegetables? It is the one task (and cleaning afterwards) that prevents me from making many more of my own meals. If only I could pay someone to cut them for me...**


	3. Number 1 Fanboy

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back! I apologize for how long this one took. My job basically has taken over my life the last two weeks, and I have not been in a good spot emotionally. It was quite difficult for me to get the ending of this chapter finished, but I did and now it's here!**

 **This chapter finally reveals the hero rankings! I actually came up with my ranking system before Chapter 184 came out, and I'm actually pretty proud at how close my system came out to be compared to cannon! I put a lot of thought into the rankings, so i'm curious to see how you guys react to them.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has left a review and favorite/follow etc. You help me push on even through this rough time in my life right now!**

* * *

Dinner was absolutely amazing. If there is one thing that Kouta can appreciate is katsudon. More specifically katsudon prepared by Big Sister and Uncle Mirio.

And the mochi! He has never eaten anything as purely heavenly as the mochi they had for dessert! Absolutely mind-blowing!

Now he knows why Big Sister loves mochi so much.

"Common Kouta! Lets look at the latest rankings!"

He gives an exasperated sigh to his best friend. He wants to enjoy the high from that amazing meal a while longer. Nonetheless, he gives in rather easily. He wants to see them too… as well as show her the other article he bought the magazine for. "Alright. Big Brother, where did you put the magazines?"

"They're on the kotatsu in the living room," He answers. "I bought one for Eri as well, so you guys can take two and head to your room of you'd like."

Before he can even respond, Eri is up and running towards their big brother. "Thank you Big Brother!" She squeals. He has to smirk at the over the top reaction she gives Deku, although he also knows how much it means to their shared big brother.

"You're welcome Eri!" he replies, returning the hug. After a few moments, Eri jumps out of the hero's arms and runs over to the other teenager, grabbing him by the arm. He stifles a startled yelp at the action, still not used to it despite the frequency in which Eri drags him around. He can hear the chuckles of all three adults as Eri leads him towards the living room.

"I can walk on my own you know…" He mumbles as his best friend picks up two magazines featuring the reserved smile of the Hero Shouto before leading him to his own room.

"I know, but I just like to pull you around," she replies back cheekily. The grin on her face is mischievous, and Kouta can't help another sigh from escaping his lips as they make their way into his room.

The room is a simple room, but thanks to the fact that Big Brother and Big Sister like to spoil their little brother, it has quite a bit of nice amenities. For example, he has a queen sized bed and mahogany desk on the wall in front of a window. At the foot of the bed are two leather recliner chairs facing a wall-mounted television with the latest gaming systems hooked up.

And of course there are the decorations.

Multitudes of posters and banners of his favorite heroes adorn the walls. There is one of almost all of his big brother's hero class represented somewhere, with the most noticeable being comprised of the his favorites, such as Shouto and Froppy. And of course, there is a wealthy amount of Uravity and Lemillion merchandise scattered throughout.

The most prominent figure though is Deku…

By far.

On his mahogany desk sits a collection of Deku figurines and action figures that he has accumulated throughout the years. He has dozens of them, and personally knows what year, model and costume design all of them are. He figures that collection is worth tens of thousands of yen at this point. His bed spread is Deku themed, the comforter being an action shot of Deku surrounded by the green lightning of Full Cowl mid punch. Even the walls are painted the same pale green of Deku's costume.

Needless to say, Kouta is a big Deku fanboy.

Not that it's a surprise to anyone.

"Kouta, I know I've been here hundreds of times, but I still have to say it every time: I freakin' love your room!" Eri declares. He smirks as she looks around, taking in new features. "Oh, is that the newest 'Delta Costume Deku' figurine at the front of the collection?"

"Yep. Literally just came out yesterday. I had it on pre-order so I was able to get it before it sold out."

"Lucky." Eri dejectedly sighs, envious of his newest figurine. "I always forget how quickly his merchandise sells out when it first comes out. By the time I was able to get to the store to buy it they were all gone."

"Well he is the #1 Hero after all." He is quite proud of his Deku collection. He and Eri both have tons of his merchandise and always try and see what the other has. At this point, he has much more, although this is mostly due to the fact that Big Sister continuously gives him new stuff and encourages him to go full fanboy with his room. Kouta goes along with it rather easily, not only because he truly is a giant fan of his Big Brother, but also because his brother himself gets all flustered at seeing all of his merchandise in his little brother's room.

And there really is nothing more amusing to him than that.

Eventually, he and Eri spread out on his bed and open up their magazines to the page with the hero rankings.

Official Hero Rankings for Semester 1, year 2126

 **Notes about the Hero Rankings: The Official Hero Rankings are published by the JP Hero Billboard biannually and are a composite of three main components: Hero Work, Public Opinion, and Professional Opinion.**

 **\- Hero Work—broken down into three sub-components: Villain Takedowns/Incidents Resolved, Rescue Efforts, and Total Collateral Damage.**

 **-** **Villain Takedowns/Incidents Resolved (VT)—the total amount of villains either defeated by the hero, or villainous incidents that were resolved peacefully (e.g. hostage situations). Difficult opponents award higher values.**

 **\- Rescue Efforts (RE)—the total amount of rescue incidents the hero has responded to, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Mainly focuses on the hero's ability to rescue civilians in various precarious situations rather than taking down villains.**

 **\- Total Collateral Damage (TCD)—the hero's ability to resolve incidents while maintaining the highest integrity to the surrounding environment. This component includes incidents that are prevented before they occur as well as the hero's ability to limit the damage they do to the surrounding environment while in a battle with a villain, such as limiting civilian involvement and damage to surrounding structure (e.g. limiting damage to buildings in an urban environment).**

 **\- Public Opinion—results of the JP Hero Billboard National Popularity Survey that is distributed throughout Japan to non-hero civilians. Response rates vary, but is typically no less than 30 million civilians.**

 **\- Professional Opinion—results of the JP Billboard National Professional Opinion Survey that is distributed to all licensed Professional Heroes. This does not include high school students with their provisional hero license. Survey is invalid if there is less than a 95% turnout, an event which is extremely rare.**

 **The rankings are weighted as follows:**

 **Hero Work—50%** **Public Opinion—20%** **Professional Opinion—30%**

 **Presented here are the results of both the JP Hero Billboard National Popularity Survey and the JP Billboard National Professional Opinion Survey, as well as the Official Hero Rankings. The Official Hero Rankings have the Hero Work subcomponents listed in parentheses by rank amongst all licensed Professional Heroes.**

Official Hero Rankings: **Change in Ranking** (VT; RE; TCD)

1\. Deku **+/-0** (2; 1; 1)—13 consecutive semesters at #1

2\. Ground Zero **+/- 0** (1; 5; 3)

3\. Lemillion **+/- 0** (3; 2; 2)

4\. Shouto **+1** (4; 7; 12)

5\. Gale **-1** (5; 6; 11)

6\. Suneater **+/- 0** (6; 8; 4)

7\. Nejire-chan **+/-0** (10; 9; 14)

8\. Uravity **+3** (15; 3; 9)

9\. Ingenium **+/-0** (12; 10; 5)

10\. Froppy **+2** (18; 4; 10)

—

JP Hero Billboard National Popularity Survey: total votes—35,547,846

1\. Deku (9,981,835)

2\. Lemillion (5,175,757)

3\. Ground Zero (5,118,890)

4\. Nejire-chan (1,592,543)

5\. Shouto (1,507,228)

6\. Gale (1,421,913)

7\. Uravity (1,165,969)

8\. Froppy (995,340)

9\. Suneater (796,272)

10\. Hawks (682,530)

—

JP Billboard National Professional Opinion Survey: Total Votes—1267

1\. Deku (368)

2\. Ground Zero (214)

3\. Lemillion (209)

4\. Suneater (95)

5\. Shouto (90)

6\. Gale (89)

7\. Uravity (66)

8\. Froppy (62)

9\. Ingenium (43)

10\. Nejire-chan (28)

—

"Well Big Brother dominated again like always," Kouta can't help but comment smugly. It is one thing for him as his little brother to think that Deku is the best, but it is a different kind of satisfaction to see the rest of the country acknowledge it in such a big way as well.

"And Kacchan and Dad were #2 and #3 again by a landslide. No surprise there." She sighs dramatically. "And I thought Dad just might have outstripped Kacchan this time, but now its been two polls in a row he's been #3."

"True, but not by much," he replies instantly. "They definitely are neck and neck. Either one of them could be #2 at any time, and deservingly so." He truly believes that too. As far as pure talent and motivation to be a hero, both Uncle Mirio and Kacchan are on a whole other level to everyone else besides Deku. He respects them a huge deal, and definitely thinks they deserve their votes.

"I know that it's pretty rare, but I must say that I genuinely like everyone in these rankings this semester." Eri adds. "And I'm really happy that Shouto got #4 this time, and that both Big Sister and Tsuyu got publicly recognized."

"It's pretty ridiculous though how lopsided the votes in both polls are though. I know it's been this way for a while, but they listed statistics this time" He points to the corresponding column in the article. "I mean look at these numbers for the popularity poll! It says that 20,276,482 votes—more than 57% of all votes—went to either Deku, Ground Zero, or Lemillion, which is almost 2.5 times more than the rest of the top 10 heroes combined!"

He can see Eri's eyes widen slightly at that. "For real!? I guess it makes sense when you actually add up the votes, but dang! And look here," she adds. The girl points to another stat. "It says that Deku procured approximately 28% of the votes himself! Has anyone ever been that popular before?!"

Kouta shakes his head. "I can only think of All Might, but I'm not sure that even he was this popular across both non-heroes and heroes. In fact, I'm not sure there has ever been a time where there has been such a clear cut top 3 for more than a few semesters, and this has been going on for years now." He would know. Ever since Big Brother opened his eyes to just how awesome heroes are, he has been researching them nonstop.

And if there is one hero he knows better than anyone, it's Deku.

"Think about it this way," he elaborates. "Deku is the second youngest after Hawks to reach the top 10, and he is the quickest to reach #1 status." He nods his head knowingly as he continues, now in full nerd mode. "Not only that, but he is also the only one who has never lost the #1 ranking when he eventually achieved it. Even All Might lost it a few times before he solidified himself as the Symbol of Peace. Big Brother is definitely in unprecedented territory as far as heroes go."

Eri giggles at his monologue. "Wow, you really are a Deku nerd Kouta!" He blushes slightly at that, but doesn't deny it. He knows he's a huge 'Deku nerd' like she claimed. It wouldn't be befitting of him to lie about it, especially to his best friend.

"I-its not like you're any better!" He retorts instead. "You fangirl over Big Brother too, not to mention your dad and Big Sister."

"You're not wrong Kouta," she gets out through her giggles. "But I also don't get as embarrassed as easily over it as you." He pouts at her, which causes her to laugh even more. Internally though, he smirks. Truthfully, he loves hearing her laugh, and loves being the cause of it even more.

He waits out the laughter for a few more moments as it subsides before Eri concludes her thoughts. "Seriously though, Big Brother is amazing, and so are Kacchan and Dad for being able to separate themselves so much from everyone else."

Kouta nods in agreement. "There is a reason they are called 'The Immortal Heroes' after all. No one has a chance of getting close to them. Everyone else really competes for the #4 spot."

His friend giggles once again. "Yep! Even the article on the analysis of the rankings called Shouto the top of the 'mortal heroes.'"

They continue to discuss the hero rankings some more. Eri makes a comment on how she's glad that Shouto finally got #4 after competing with Gale for it for the past year and a half. She also makes a strong argument with reasons for her Uncle Tamaki, stating that he deserves much more respect from the fans. They read in silence for a while as well, both going on to their own topics. Eventually though, Kouta is able to get the topic to transition to the newest article on Deku in which he had just finished reading.

"Did you see the latest article on Big Brother Eri?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. I just mostly focused on the rankings since there's, like, an article on Big Brother every other issue." She smirks at him. "Although it doesn't surprise me that you would focus on it."

Kouta tries his best to hide his blush again at getting called out for being such a fanboy. "W-well this article is a bit different. It focuses on his hero work before he even got his provisional license."

He hears his best friend hum at that. "Yep that would be a new aspect at least."

Kota nods. "Apparently there were at least 5 separate instances where he saved someone, even just as a first year student without any experience with his quirk. You remember the sludge villain instance?"

"Yeah, that was the one where he ran out to save Kacchan when none of the heroes could do anything."

Kouta nods once again. "Yep that's the one. Apparently he didn't even have his quirk yet when that happened."

Eri gets wide eyed at that. "Weren't they both in middle school when that happened? I knew that he developed his quirk extremely late, but I didn't know that he still didn't have it at that point!"

"Exactly!" he exclaims. "Uncle Toshi had spoken out about the incident since he had saved both Kacchan and Big Brother in the end. He told the reporter that the reason he took Big Brother under his wing was because of the heroic spirit that he showed that day—trying to rescue a friend without hesitation even without a quirk. It's one of the reasons that Big Brother is so well-respected with the Heroes."

Eri whistles. "That is quite the story."

The boy smirks in response. "That's not even half of it. You know how Big Sister says that the reason she started liking Big Brother was because he saved her during the Entrance Exam for Yuuei?" At her nod he continues. "Well apparently he also saved Shouto during the Sports Festival, and that's the reason they became such close friends."

"Wait… You're taking about the first year Sports festival right?" she asks. "I thought they fought each other in the last event. The video of that fight went viral because of how much Deku destroyed his body during that match. How did he save Shouto?"

At that question, Kouta points out a specific section of the four page article. "Apparently, this reporter was able to interview Shouto. According to him, Big Brother should have won their fight, but lost because he was trying to get Shouto to use both his fire and ice. He says that Deku didn't go into that fight with the intention to win, but rather with the intention to make him a better hero and to help him heal from the abuse that he went through from his father. He says, and I quote: 'That day, Deku saved me from myself: he gave me the epiphany I needed that my quirk is my own, not Endeavor's. He broke all of his bones in his hand and more just to help me. It is that selfless kindness that makes him the #1 Hero in my opinion, as I wouldn't be even half the hero I am today without it.'"

"Oh my gosh!" Eri gushes. "Shouto never really talks with reporters much, so him coming out and saying this is huge! And despite it totally being something that Big Brother would do, it still is shocking that he would give up his moment to make a statement in his very first Sports Festival just to help out someone he barely knew."

"Big brother doesn't care about recognition much," Kouta argues. "It really isn't too shocking to me at least. Plus it worked out in the end. He was able to win the next two Sports Festivals."

This causes his friend to snort. "Well, you're not wrong. I've seen those videos. While in his second year one he barely beat out Kacchan, that third year one was a joke."

Kouta laughs at that. "Yeah, it couldn't have been any more lopsided. It was completely obvious at that point that he was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime hero from how much he dominated that Sports Festival. Nobody else stood a chance. Not even Kacchan."

After a few moments more of them chuckling, Eri tries to get back on their original topic by pointing to another section in the article on Deku. "Why is it mentioning 'the Stain Incident' in the article? I thought Endeavor took down the Hero Killer."

"Well, Ingenium was also interviewed for this article." He explains. "According to him, he had actually picked Hosu for his field training during first year because his brother was taken out by the Hero Killer and he wanted to catch his brother's attacker himself."

"That was the same night the League of Villains had attacked Hosu right?"

"Yep. Tenya had used that chaos to sneak away and find the Hero Killer. He found him and was actually was paralyzed by him. He then states that Big Brother was able to save him before Stain was able to kill him off. Shouto showed up shortly after, and both Shouto and Deku helped stall for time until the effects of Stain's quirk wore off on Ingenium. Then all three of them teamed up to take out the Hero Killer.""

"Wait WHAT?" Eri exclaims. "You mean Big Brother was part of that incident too!? How come I've never heard of any of this!? I would have much rather believed that Big Brother took down Stain than that asshole Endeavor!"

The boy can't help but chuckle at that. "The Hosu Police Chief spoke up after this article became known and verified the information that Ingenium gave. It was apparently covered up by the Hosu Police since none of the three heroes had their license at the time. He later mentioned that since they were on their field training, they were technically allowed to use their quirks within the presence of a licensed Pro Hero, and since the Hero Native was on scene, they technically didn't do anything wrong. The Chief admitted in the article that this was the reason he allowed the story to be published in the first place."

The other girl huffs at that. "Well if that's the case, why did he wait so long to reveal the true events? Big Brother, Shouto, and Tenya could have been acknowledged much earlier for taking out such a high profile criminal!"

"Yeah, that made me mad too." Kouta agrees. "There is a possibility that the chief did it at the time they were high school students to make a statement to discourage their reckless behavior, but he could have come out sooner after they already got their Professional Hero Licenses."

They let that settle for a few moments before Eri continues on. "Alright so if you include Big Brother rescuing Big Sister, that's four incidents total. I know that he got his Provisional Hero License the next semester, so the last incident must have happened before that."

She puts her hand on her chin, and Kouta can't help but think the motion adorable. He's about to give her an answer when she puts up her hand in a halting motion. "Don't tell me what it is! I wanna see if I can guess what the last one is!" She then starts thinking out loud, going on a 'mumble storm' similar to their Big Brother. "So the only thing that happened in between the time of the Hero Killer and the Provisional License Exam was that Kamino Ward Incident when Kacchan was kidnapped, but he was recused by a bunch of professional heroes as well as Big Brother, so I don't think they're talking about that. It must have happened during the Yuuei Summer Training Camp. After all, That was where Kacchan was kidnapped in the first place, but there were other villains that got captured there as well. The most notable was a villain named Muscular, who was wanted for taking… out… the…"

Kouta looks down before he can meet her gaze. He knew she'd make the connection eventually. He feels it drilling holes in the top of his head, but he can't help but wince at the mention of his parents' demise. It still hurts even after all of these years, but thanks to Big Brother, he was finally able to see it from another perspective. His parents were true heroes—heroes he is proud to call his parents.

Yet… the thought of what that monster did to them still stings.

He jumps slightly when he feels arms wrap around him. However, he does nothing to escape, finding comfort in the embrace. "Oh Kouta…" He hears Eri sigh. "I'm sorry. It must still hurt to think about it. We can stop if you want."

He shakes his head. "No it's okay. I'll be fine. It's been years so I should be fine by now."

"That's not true!" Eri denies. "They were your parents! It's okay to still hurt after all these years. Everyone heals differently, so you don't have to feel like you should be fine."

Kouta only nods, now wrapping his arms around his best friend. Normally he isn't much of a touchy-feely type of person, but he makes an exception with Eri, who definitely is. However, he is determined to get through this article with her. After all, this last section is the reason he wanted to show her in the first place. While he explained to her that Deku had rescued him, he never revealed many of the details of said rescue. Big Brother never told her either, believing that it is Kouta's story to tell, not his.

He enjoys the feeling of the embrace for a few more moments before pulling himself away. "Thank's Eri. I appreciate your concern, but it's okay. I'll be fine." He gestures to the article. "Go ahead and read about it. My Auntie Shino revealed the whole thing, so let me know when you're done. While she knows the general idea, she wasn't actually there directly so I can give you the finer details."

His best friend hesitates for a moment before nodding. "Okay Kouta. If you're sure…"

He returns her nod. "I am."

It takes her a few more moments of staring before she finally relents and starts reading. Tense silence fills the room for the three minutes it takes her to finish reading the section about how he was saved from his parents' murderer by Big Brother.

Once she's done, she looks up at him with moist eyes. "Oh Kouta!" She cries. "I never thought about how the guy that murdered your parents was the same one that Big Brother rescued you from! That must have been terrifying!"

He gulps at seeing the tears in her eyes before nodding. "Y-yeah… it was. And not only that… Big Brother almost got ki-killed three separate t-times trying to s-sa-ve m-me." He really has to fight back tears himself just remembering it, but the thought of his big brother back then pushes him on. "The worst part was that I had no idea why he was even fighting for me! That whole t-time he w-was f-f-fighting that f-freak I was thinking how h-horrib-b-ble I had t-treated him…" He pauses for another moment to regain himself. After a deep breath he continues. "I kept feeling… that he didn't deserve to get hurt… fighting for me…"

Kouta is stopped from saying any more by Eri giving him yet another hug. She pulls him in close and he does the same with her as he feels a wetness on his shoulder.

Dammit! He made her cry!

"Kouta!" He hears her sob. "I know exactly how you feel! I felt the exact same way when Big Brother and Dad rescued me! I was so confused when they went through all of that to free me from my former life—confused when I thought I was only alive to destroy…" She pulls away slightly to look at him with her teary red eyes. "But then I realized that that was just who they are. They both just recused me because I needed saving! You're aunt said it best in that article: Deku rescued you because you were an innocent boy that needed saving."

"I-I know…" he stammers in reply. "I know that! But you didn't see how messed up he was after that fight! He was so beat up and his entire right arm was mush! He almost got killed on three occasions, and even after all that he still put me on his shoulders and ran me to Eraserhead so I was safe!" The teen sniffles a bit, trying once again to regain his composure. "And not only that, but after I was delivered to Eraserhead, he ran off and kept on fighting with all of those nasty injuries. I kept on thinking that he was going to die… and it was all going to be my fault!"

He feels her grip tighten on his again after saying that. "I know," he tries to explain before she has a chance to interrupt. "I know now that I shouldn't have thought that way. But back then it just seemed so unreal that he would do all of that for some snot-nosed brat who punched him in the junk the first time they met without any explanation. I couldn't help but feel guilty…"

He takes a few shaky breaths to give himself some more composure, then extracts himself from her embrace to look her in the eye. "But you know what? It was that selfless sacrifice that made me see the good that heroes can bring. Big Brother helped me realize why my parents did what they did. He's the reason I am now on my current path and I have such a good life." He diverts his eyes as he continues. "That incident may have been the scariest thing that happened to me, but it was also the best—it was the best because it helped me understand my parents and because it brought me closer to Big Brother."

He lets that settle for a few moments. He truly means what he said too. He wouldn't be half the person he is today if those events never occurred. He takes this time to finally look back at Eri and see her reaction. He's taken aback by the beaming smile she gives him.

"Kouta!" she squeals. "That is absolutely amazing! You are incredible for being able to turn that event around like that! I know from experience that is not easy!"

"W-well it's all thanks to Big Brother and Auntie Shino…" he stammers, blushing. "They both talked to me about the events of that night and helped change my perspective. Auntie Shino helped me realize why Deku did what he did, and Big Brother helped me turn the situation around into a positive."

His best friend nods knowingly. "Yep. He's really good at that. I swear, the reason he's #1 is because he's just so freaking optimistic and determined! He did the same with my experience."

Kouta's eyes widen slightly. "Really?" Somehow, he's not too surprised by that. While she has never shared her full story with him, she has given him the impression that her situation was absolutely horrible before she was rescued. After all, she still has those scars on her arms to prove it. Big Brother and Uncle Mirio must have both talked to her after she was rescued.

"Yep. I'll tell you about it, but not now. We've had enough sad stuff for one day. I don't think I can handle going through my situation at the moment."

He nods at her. "Of course." he speaks up without hesitation. He knows how hard reliving bad memories is. He's not going to force her to when she's not ready.

"Thanks for sharing this with me though Kouta." She pulls him into yet another hug. He rolls his eyes good naturedly before returning the embrace. He doesn't know why she's thanking him considering that he's the one that wanted to share the article with her, but he won't ever turn down an Eri hug.

That night after Eri goes home and he is laying in bed about to go to sleep, he looks over at his collection of Deku figurines on his desk. He smiles proudly at them, remembering seeing a very similar type of collection in his big brother's room at Yuuei of All Might. Deku could gush all about how he waned to be a hero like All Might, and explained that he gets inspired to be his best from his All Might collection. Kouta knows that feeling. His big brother inspires that same feeling into him. As he closes his eyes, he feels happy at yet another similarity between him and his hero.

After all, while Deku might be the #1 Hero, Kouta is definitely the #1 Fanboy.


End file.
